Furnace-door-operating device.



No. 740,987. PATENTED OCT. 6, 1903. L. I. NEW-TON FURNACE DOUR OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED 001.25, 1902.

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v PATENTED OCT. 6, 1903.

L. LNEWTON. FURNACE DOOR OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION TILED 00125, 1902.

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Patented October 6, 1903.

LORIN I. NEWTON, OF FORT DODGE, IOWA.

FURNACE-DOOR-OPERATlNG DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Nd 740,987, dated October 6, 1903. v Application filed October 25,1902- Serial Nol28l'75l. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Loam I. NEWTON, residing at Fort Dodge, in the county of Webster and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnace- 'Door-Operating Devices, of which the 'followwhereby the fireman may open and close the door with his foot, and thus leave his hands free for feeding fuel into the furnace, and thereby facilitate the coaling process in ad dition to opening and closing the door at each operation.

It is well known that firemen in general when it becomes necessary to shovel coal into the furnace leave the door open until that feeding is completed, and the reason therefor is that both of his hands are necessary to properor advantageoushandlin g of the shovel. Obviously when a furnace-door is kept open such length of time as from beginning to finish of the feeding process an unnecessary amount of cold air will rush into the fire-box and boiler-fines, causing them to cool off with such injurious effect as will or is likely to make them leak through repeated accompanyin g contraction of the parts.

To overcome the above objections, I have invented the hereinafter-described improved means whereby a fireman may open and close the fire-box door with one foot, leaving his hands free for advantageous handling of the shovel. It is obvious that when a furnacedoor is left open during the feeding process the fire-box and also the tines will be cooled down, rendering a corresponding amount of additional coal necessary to reheat them, and to obviate which objection myinvention is chiefly designed.

In order to enable others to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe it in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my invention in use. Fig. 2 is a view showing ,vides the upper end of the rod 1 with a crankmy door-operating devices in modified form; and Fig. 3 is an inverted plan View of the f urnace-fioor, showing operating devices en1= ployed in the modified form of the invention.

It will be seen that in the embodiment of my invention I employ devices of peculiar construction and arrangement whereby a fireman may open and close a furnace fire-box doorby simple pressure of one foot against a device located in the floor.

In carrying out myinventiou I employ an elongated rod 1, to which the door is fixed, and-suitably support the same by brackets 2, in which latter the rod 1 rotates as the furnace-door is opened and closed. The upper end of the rod 1 is bent, forming an angular member 3, engaging with an upright extension 4, which latter with the member 3 proshaped upper end, from which extends a spring 5, having its other end secured to the front of the furnace, substantially as shown, and operating to hold the door yieldingly closed.

6 indicates an arm projecting outfrom the front of the furnace and providing at its outer end pivotal support for a lever 7, whose outer or longer end 8 is connected by a rod 9-with the end 4 of the crank-shaped upper end of the rod 1. From the shorter end 10 of the lever 7 extends a rod 11, connecting the crank 12 at the upperend of a revoluble rod 13. This rod extends down through the furnacehearth or a locomotive-cab floor and is bent at an angle, as at 14., and then extended up wardly at 15, with the end of the latter projected through a curved or other suitablyshaped guideway-opening. When pressure is exerted against the upper end orfoot-piece 17 of the member 15, the guideway 16 will allow horizontal or sidewise movement of the foot-piece and impart turning action to the rod 13, and thereby movement of the crank 12.

With the parts constructed and connected as above described and shown by my drawings it is apparent that a fireman. has simply to press his left foot against the foot-piece 17, projecting up through the floor, when a partial turn will be imparted to the rod 13, and thereby through the crank 12, rod 11, lever 7, rod 9,'and crank-shaped upper end of the ICO rod 1 swing open the furnace-door against tension of the spring 5. Now when pressure is removed from the foot-piece 17 it is apparent that the spring 5, it being under tension, will operate the cranked upper end of the rod 1 with elfect to close the furnace-door and also return all the parts through their connections to first or normal position.

As above described, all the working parts save the member 14 are located above the hearth or cab-floor; but the same may be located under the hearth or cab floor with slight modification or change, as I will now proceed to describe. In its modified form the rod 1, supporting the furnace-door, is extended down through the hearth or cab-floor and is provided at its lower end with a crank 18, displacing the similar crank members 3 4, above described. The arrangomen ts of parts under the floor are substantially the same as in the arrangement thereof first described, but dispense with the revoluble rod 13 and its crank member 12. In the modified arrangement an arm 19 is used, having one end pivoted to a bracket 20 and its other end connected with a rod or link 21, extend ing from one end ofa lever 22, pivot-ed at 23 to a bracket 24. The opposite end of the lever 22 connects the crank 18 on the lower end of the door-supporting rod 1 by a link or rod 24. With the construction and arrangement of parts last described the operating footpiece 17, substantially as first described, projects up through a slot 25 in the floor and is connected with the lever 12 at 26, as shown.

27 indicates a spring having one end fixed and the other end secured to the crank 18. This spring operates to yieldingly hold the furnace-door closed and serves substantially the same as the spring 5, hereinbefore referred to, and used with the arrangement of parts above the floor.

The joints of all rods and cranks and also the furnace-door hinges maybe made adjustable, as indicated by 28 in all the views.

Having thus fully described my invention,

whatIclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a furnace-door held yieldingly closed and adapted to be opened through mechanism extending from an operating-piece in front of the furnace, a vertical rod fixed to and forming one hinge member of the door, a crank member at one end of said Vertical rod, a spring having one end fixed and its other connected with the said crank and adapted to hold the door yieldingly closed,an elongated angularly-arranged guide-slot in the furnace-hearth or floor, a

foot-piece projecting up through the said hold the door yieldingly closed, a bracket projecting out from the front of the furnace, a

lever having pivoted support at the outer end of the said bracket with a shorter and longer end as specified, a rod extending from the longer end of the said pivoted lever to the crank at the upper end of the vertical rod or hinge member, a rod extending from the shorter end of the said pivoted lever to an operating-cran k, a revoluble rod having at its upper end an operating-crank and with its lower end extending below the hearth or cabfloor, a guideway-slot in the hearth or cabfioor, a foot-piece projecting up through the said guideway-slot and having a crank-acting connection with the lower end of the said revoluble rod, substantially as described.

LORIN I. NEWTON. Witnesses:

GEO. B. SHERMAN, H. S. VINCENT. 

